[0:00] Alright, so 2 Samuel is our home group book for the next year. This is the guide and commentary that the leaders will be using.
[0:15] ! If you don't have one and you want to get one, that's Dale Ralph Davis's 2 Samuel, Out of Every Adversity. So that's really quite a good book. It talks about all the issues, got good discussion questions at the end and it's really accessible and it's not written in a too technical kind of way.
[0:38] So really a good book to get for yourself as well to work through that. And of course, we're following on from 1 Samuel about a year, 2 years ago.
[0:53] So, a lot of what you hear tonight, if you were here for that, will be familiar, but it's good to recap that and refresh those things because essentially 1 and 2 Samuel originally were one book as circulated in the Old Testament.
[1:12] So a lot of what we said there are still relevant for 2 Samuel. And it's 2 years ago, let's be honest. So 2 Samuel, but first for something not very different.
[1:25] Before we dive into the book itself, it's good to recap a bit about covenants and how the Bible works, how the biblical story works and how the biblical story brings us to this place in the Bible of 2 Samuel.
[1:44] The Bible story is God's kingdom coming through covenants, God's kingdom breaking into this world and being established in this world by way of God's covenant with his people.
[2:01] And that kingdom, as it's visible in this world, grows as the covenants that God makes with his people become more visible and expand through the course of the history that we find in the Bible.
[2:19] Just like that tree that's grown from that little seed into a sapling, into a little tree, into this massive tree like the fir tree that we've got out the back. That's very helpful in many ways.
[2:34] So the story is God's people, the story works towards an ideal and as we see it unfold in the history of the Bible, it is a story of God's people in God's land, under God's rule, awaiting a Sabbath rest that is promised to them.
[2:55] And that is what the message is to Israel as they come out of Egypt. At the Exodus, as they go into this promised land, there is the idea of rest.
[3:07] If you go into this land and obey my law, then you will enjoy the blessing of rest. But there is always this idea of an eternal rest that is coming.
[3:18] Right from Genesis 3, really, where our labour is now afflicted and affected by toil and marked by toil.
[3:29] Work is hard now. Even from there, there is the idea that there will be a rest from those things. The creation account itself, God resting on the seventh day. And it's always administered by a representative.
[3:44] God's people are led by Moses, and then we've got the judges, and then Saul, David, and the rest of the kings. And of course, it works towards Jesus, ruling and reigning over his people.
[4:01] And the ideal that it works towards is God's kingdom in a new creation.
[4:14] Where, finally, his son will reign over God's people. And at the moment, we're not quite in that Sabbath rest yet.
[4:29] But we're in this time, in this epoch, between those representatives and the not yet, the waiting for the full fulfillment, the full culmination of all of this.
[4:42] Where God's people are under God's son, and under his bride, the church. We are under the authority of Christ, in this time mediated through the church.
[4:59] But we're still awaiting a Sabbath rest. How does the covenant work? The covenants in the Bible all have an element of grace, starting with grace.
[5:12] There's an element of law. We'll unpack this now. And that law has aspects of blessing and curse attached to it.
[5:25] But regardless of how that plays out, there's always grace in the end. Which, as we go through the Bible story, is very good news. So, two main types of covenants in the Bible, really.
[5:40] Works and grace. Covenant of works with Adam in the Garden of Eden. Debated by some scholars, but generally in Reformed circles, we buy into that.
[5:55] That there was a covenant of works with Adam. That Adam was given tasks. If he obeyed God, that would have led to eternal life, eternal blessing. We're not talking about that now.
[6:06] We're talking about the covenant of grace, which follows from that. And unfolds through the rest of the Bible story, leading to the fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
[6:19] So, how does the Bible story grow? Like we said, in various stages in this covenant of grace. There's the covenant of restoration with the seed of the woman.
[6:33] Genesis 3, like we said. Covenant of preservation with Noah. I won't destroy the earth again, as with this flood. Covenant of promise with Abraham. In you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
[6:47] And looking forward to Abraham's seed and doing that. The covenant of law with Israel, Moses. And they all have signs attached to them.
[7:00] The rainbow with Noah, circumcision with Abraham. The Sabbath attached to the covenant of law with Moses. That's a sign of that. The covenant of the kingdom with David.
[7:12] And then the covenant of fulfillment made with the church. The new covenant. And really what we see in the book, this book and the Bible up to now, the historical books, is that covenant of law with Israel and the covenant of the kingdom with David.
[7:35] And as we start to Samuel, we're still in the transition between those two stages, really. We transition into Samuel between those two stages of the unfolding of the covenant.
[7:48] Up to now they've been under the law of Israel. They've been out of Egypt. In Exodus received the law. And we're about to see in 2 Samuel, God expanding the covenant into the next phase.
[8:03] The covenant with David. So that's important to keep in mind with what's going on in 2 Samuel. Generally, this is the unfolding of the next stage of God's plan for his people.
[8:18] The covenant of law. That was the stage that we're in up to now. God said, I will be your God and you will be my people. And this applied to the people in the land in this way.
[8:31] So God elected Israel's fathers while there were still, you know, idolaters, Abraham and all of them. He rescued them from Egypt.
[8:41] He graciously blessed them even through Balaam, the unbeliever. And he graciously gave them the land through Joshua. All the initiative of God.
[8:52] Grace is the starting point of that covenant. People sometimes try to separate these things, grace and law. We can't really do that.
[9:03] They're intertwined. But the covenant starts with grace. The law is they must obey God's laws as the way of life in the covenant.
[9:14] God says, this is how you should live. And makes it pretty clear. And out of that law, attached to that is blessing and curse.
[9:25] Their stay in the land is conditional on them obeying the law. In the land that God's given them, Canaan. Blessing means enjoying life in that land.
[9:37] Curse means slavery to their enemies and exile ultimately. So what do they do? They go and disobey God's laws and they fall into idolatry.
[9:51] And ultimately they go into exile. But before that, I mean right from the beginning, they go into the land. They fall into idolatry. And that's the whole story of judges, isn't it?
[10:02] Right from the beginning. It doesn't take them very long. And they start to disobey God's laws. They're led into idolatry by various people. And God has to raise up leader after leader for them.
[10:15] To rescue them from that. And from their enemies. And give them rest. And there's a downward spiral in judges.
[10:26] In 1 Samuel we then saw, isn't it, that God responds ultimately after that whole saga in judges.
[10:37] And they cry out, we want a king. They of course say, we want a king like the nations. And that's a sinful request. Because God told them in Deuteronomy, don't ask for a king like the nations.
[10:53] And they go and do exactly that. So he graciously responds to that request. And gives them what they asked for. Choose a Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. And Saul must now respond by faith to God.
[11:09] For this grace shown to him. And chosen as king. There's a lot in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 17. About one day when they do get a king.
[11:20] How this king should live. And obey and lead them. So that's already established. Israel's king must obey God's laws.
[11:31] And study them. And meditate them. And meditate upon them. And govern in accordance with them. That's been established for a long time. Blessing for the king is.
[11:42] It will go well with him and the nation. The nation is blessed. Or cursed. In many ways. Through the actions of the king.
[11:53] The representative. And the red ministers. God's people. If the king disobeys. He and the nation will be swept away. So there's really a question of life and death. In the covenants.
[12:06] So what we're coming to now. Is the covenant of the kingdom. The covenant God makes with David. Transitions from the covenant with Moses.
[12:18] And particularly chapter 7. So when we get there. That will be a big thing. That we'll look at. So grace. Again. God responds in grace to David's poor background.
[12:30] He's not wealthy. He's not well thought of. His family. They're not. They don't have high status. He's not even the eldest. God knows all the moral failures.
[12:42] That we'll see of David. Already. And yet still chooses him. To make a covenant with him. In this way. And to get him to lead the people.
[12:52] And the covenant isn't just any covenant. God promises to establish the kingdom of his son forever. Through David. Which is an incredible thought.
[13:03] Given where David was. At that stage. Before God called him. And now again. David must respond by faith. In God's covenant's promise.
[13:14] Saul had to do that. We've seen how tragically he failed in doing that. In 1 Samuel. That's the question now in 2 Samuel. Isn't it? Is David going to be different?
[13:25] Is David going to respond in faith to God's promises? Unlike Saul. That's the cliffhanger that we're on. That's the tension. That the writer of Samuel.
[13:36] wants us to feel. Again. David and his son are to obey God's laws. And that. Word son there is important.
[13:48] In that covenant with David. It comes up. You know. We see Solomon succeed. David. Not quite into Samuel. Beginning of 1 Kings.
[13:59] But that's kind of a tension. That runs through it as well. Is. Is one of the sons. Going to be the son. That is talked about in 2 Samuel. And.
[14:10] We looking back. Know that. Ultimately. That is Jesus Christ. Who is a descendant of David. But. You know. We'll talk about a bit. About this a bit. As we go along.
[14:23] With something like this. We. Often run the risk. Of jumping too quickly. To Jesus. It's always a good thing. To go to Jesus. And that's where we need to end up.
[14:34] But. Reading back. We sometimes. Maybe do ourselves. A disservice. Of dwelling in the text. As it. Is. And. You know. Not letting ourselves.
[14:46] Feel the tension. That the readers of that time. Would have felt themselves. So. Maybe as we kind of. Go through this year. Try and do that. And see. How would someone have read it. At the time. You know. Or between then.
[14:57] And. Seeing how this is fulfilled. In Jesus. Um. I think that helps us. Um. The grace is that. Although David's son.
[15:07] Might sin. Um. God will not. Remove his love. From him. But will establish the throne. Of his kingdom. Forever. That's the promise. That God makes to David. Isn't it?
[15:17] This is an eternal. Kingdom. An eternal throne. And. That is. That is the grace. Already right there. Um. That's good to. Remember.
[15:29] So. Why don't you say. Samuel. That's a bit of. Kingdom. Um. By the way. On. Covenant. If you want to read more. John T. Rhodes. Our minister in Leeds. Has written this.
[15:40] Very very helpful book. Uh. On covenants. It's. Again. Very accessible. And. Really. You know. Easy to read. And. Really unpacks all of this. How God deals with these people.
[15:51] Through covenants. So. Yeah. Highly recommended. I don't think we've got any at the book table at the moment. You know. Maybe we'll get some in future again. Um. So why don't you Samuel.
[16:03] Uh. Quick. Recap. Just of where this fits in. In the. In the Old Testament. The Old Testament. The. The Jewish Bible. They structure it in.
[16:14] Three ways. And if you. Buy a Hebrew Old Testament. It doesn't say. The Old Testament. Obviously. Um. But it says. The. The Torah. The Nevi'im. And the Ketuvim.
[16:25] The instruction. The prophets. And the writings. The Torah. The first five books of the Bible. And that's sometimes called law. You know. That's one way of. Of. Of. Translating Torah.
[16:36] But it's more. Instruction. More broadly. So. Still valid. And feeding into all of the others. The prophets. Um. And that's really where. One and two Samuels.
[16:47] Still fit in as well. And in the writings. That's various things like. The wisdom literature. And. Psalms. And so on. Um. So we're in the prophets. Um.
[16:58] And the prophets again. Oh. Oh. Yeah. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[17:11] So the former prophets. Um. That's where it sits. The kind of. Early. Uh. Before. The. The exile. And just before the exile. And then the latter prophets.
[17:22] You know. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Ezekiel. Daniel. Isn't there as well. And the twelve. Prophets. Um. But we're in that. Former prophets. It's still fairly early on. Um.
[17:34] The prophets. What do prophets do? Prophets speak God's word. Into the world. Um. And. You know.
[17:45] We'll see later on as well. You know. That's. That's how. The New Testament writers. Viewed Samuel as well. And the books of Samuel. Um. As. God's word being proclaimed into.
[17:58] The world at the time. Um. And still into the world. You know. Into the world they were living in. Uh. After Jesus had come already. Um. So that is.
[18:08] Really the way that we should look at these books too. They're not just historical writings. About. Events that happened. They are God speaking his word. Um. Into. Our world.
[18:20] And our lives as well. Um. And a quick recap. Samuel. Starts with Eli. Um. Disappears off the scene fairly quickly. Um. Samuel.
[18:31] The prophet. Um. Judges. He's the last judge. Um. And then. The. The. The bulk of.
[18:41] One Samuel. Really. Is the reign and decline of Saul. And then. The rise of David. Um. Through a lot of adversity. Um. And that's where the title of that.
[18:53] Uh. Dale Rolf Davis commentary is. Out of every adversity. That's what David says. When he. When he. When he. When he. When he. When he. When he's crowned. At the beginning of 2 Samuel. And he says. Lord you've rescued me out of every adversity.
[19:05] He really suffers quite a lot under Saul. Um. Um. But that's the. That's the. That's one Samuel. Um. Just worth. Think. Remembering.
[19:16] Um. Hello. Okay. Um. At the end of Ruth.
[19:28] We've got. Ruth. Needing to be redeemed. By our kinsman redeemer. And there's a Mr. So and So. Um. Who's the. The nearest person. Um. Um. Boaz.
[19:42] Takes over. Mr. So and So. Again. Think about. You know. For all eternity. He'll be known as Mr. So and So. Um. Boaz takes over.
[19:53] He steps in. And. From there. From that. Union. Uh. David is a descendant. And from there. Jesus Christ.
[20:03] So. It. This has been predicted. And been. Been. Ordained by God. A long time. Before already. We see the seeds of that. Already in Ruth. Um.
[20:15] Yeah. Um. In terms of. Structure. Of 1 and 2 Samuel. Um. Again. They're kind of. We've got them as two books.
[20:26] In the Bible. But. They really. Are. Apparently. As best we can tell. Were. Written and seen. As one book.
[20:36] Um. From a very. Very early. Time. Um. So. We've got our. Kind of. Start of 2 Samuel. Really. In the middle. Of a block. Um.
[20:47] In a story arc. That goes. Right from 1 Samuel. Um. So just worth keeping in mind. As we delve into it. Next week. Um. Um. From this. Commentary. From Delrell Davis.
[20:58] That we'll be using. This is how he devised it up. So 1 Samuel 1 to 7. Primary focus is. Is Samuel. And there's a summary section. At the end of 1 Samuel 7. Um.
[21:08] 1 Samuel 8 to 14. Is Saul. Saul coming into power. Well. Summary of that. Um. Um. And then. The section that we're going to delve into now.
[21:20] And that we've finished. When we've finished 1 Samuel. Is. David 1. Um. 1 Samuel 15. Through to 2 Samuel 8. Is.
[21:33] David really coming into. Into power. David coming into. Office as king. David being anointed. Uh. The death of Saul. That transition happening.
[21:43] The contestation that happens around that. It's not easy. It. It's not obvious. It's going to be. Right from the beginning. We'll see people. Disputing.
[21:54] Um. David's claim to the throne. Uh. Which. Uh. They shouldn't be. Given that. God. Anoints him. As king. But. That's the case.
[22:05] So that's the story. Through to. 2 Samuel 8. 2 Samuel 7. Is. Is. Is. The high point there. Isn't it. Where God. Makes this covenant.
[22:16] With David. And establishes. David's throne. Forever. And. 2 Samuel 8. Ends again. With a summary section. And. Uh.
[22:26] These summary sections. You know. We can read that. Read that. Very quickly. Um. It's. It sounds a bit dry. Um. So David reigned. Over all Israel.
[22:37] And David administered. Justice and equity. To all his people. Joab. The son of Zeruiah. Zeruiah. Was over the army. And Jehoshaphat. The son of Ahilud.
[22:48] Was recorder. And Zadok. The son of Ahitub. And Ahimelech. The son of Abiathar. Were priests. And Zeruiah. Was secretary. And Benaiah. The son of Jehoiada. Was over the Cherithites.
[23:00] And the Pelethites. And David's sons. Were priests. Um. But there's a lot of theological richness. In there. Um. Um. How does David. Administer.
[23:10] Just. Uh. Obviously reign. He administered justice. And equity. To all his people. Um. That's the ideal of the king. Isn't it? Um. And I think. Just. You know. Even in the.
[23:21] In the. In who's listed there. It reinforces this idea of kingdom. The kingdom is now established. The kingdom is ordered. There are people doing these various things. Um. It's such a contrast to judges.
[23:33] You know. Just not very long before that. Where it ends with. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Um. So. There is a message that comes with that as well.
[23:45] Um. The middle block. Uh. David 2. So 9 to 20. Is a long stretch. Again with a similar kind of a. A summary section. Um.
[23:56] And. We'll unpack a bit more about what happens there. But. And then he has the last section. 21 to 24. As kingdom. Um. Um. Just a heading.
[24:08] Um. Zooming in on 2 Samuel a bit. Just from this Delo of Davis. Commentary again. Um. The title for 1 to 8. Is. A man after God's own heart.
[24:20] Um. Again. That's the big contrast with Saul. Isn't it? Saul was. Not a man after God's own heart. He was not the king that. Uh. Israel should have wanted.
[24:31] He is the one they wanted. He didn't have a heart. Um. That was. After God in the first place. Um. But now we have a man who's after God's own heart.
[24:44] Picked by God. Specifically to be. The king over Israel. Um. In the middle block again. So that's really. The heading he gives for that is.
[24:56] A servant under God's rod. Um. A servant under God's rod. Now. When we go through those.
[25:10] Those chapters. We'll see why he does that. Um. Quite early on. In. That section. Um. Chapter 10.
[25:20] 11. 11. Um. Is. Bathsheba and Uriah. Um. Um. Again. Quite shocking. Um. Uh. What happens there.
[25:32] Quite disappointing. For the reader. Here's this king. A man who's after God's own heart. And. It doesn't take him long. To.
[25:42] Um. Fall for his own particular. Sins. Um. And. Uh. To transgress God's law. Um. And. To basically follow his own lusts.
[25:54] Um. And. A last chunk of that. Section of 9 to 20. Is actually the outworking of that. Um. There's.
[26:07] Uh. David and his family. Suffers. Quite significantly. As a result of that. Um. It's not that when God. Made the covenant with David.
[26:18] And he established. David's throne forever. That. That means there would be no consequences. Um. Going forward. Um. Uh. David's children suffer.
[26:31] Um. The child dies. Uh. And then. We've got the shocking. Uh. Episode of. Um. Tamar. Uh.
[26:42] And. Uh. What's his name? Um. Um. Here. Sorry?
[26:53] Um. Yes. Amnon. Um. Who sleeps with his sister. Um. Absalom kills him. There's a whole.
[27:05] Spiraling out of control. It almost feels. At that stage. Which again. You know. Makes us think. What is going on? Um. What is the. What is. What is going to happen?
[27:16] Um. But. He is a servant under God's rod. Um. And. We see through those chapters. How. David really. Realizes both his dependence on God.
[27:28] His own. Limitations and inadequacies. Um. Um. And we. We are reminded. To look forward. To the true king. Who is going to be. The. The promised king.
[27:39] The king we look forward to. And reminded that David is not. Is not. That king. Just yet. Um. Yeah.
[27:52] And then the last bit. Kingdom. Kingdom in God's hands. We've covered that. Um. On that last bit. I like. This bit from Robert Bergen's.
[28:03] New American commentary. A bit more. So. He kind of divides it. Roughly in the same. You know. The first block. Although he says. Two Samuel one. Goes with one Samuel. That's the end of Saul's dynasty.
[28:14] He lumps everything together. Two to twenty. And say that's. David reigns as king. I think that's maybe a bit. Broad brush stroke. Um. Over it. Um. But the last bit.
[28:26] Is kind of an aside. Illustrations of David's. Roles in his. In his relationship with. The Lord. And we've got a whole bunch. Of different. Almost vignettes. In that section. So it feels a bit.
[28:37] Batchy. But it's. It's probably designed. To show. Different aspects of. David's roles. In his relationship. Uh. With the Lord. Leading the people. Leading worship.
[28:47] Various types of things. Um. What are the functions. Of 2 Samuel. Um. Um. Um. A couple of different things.
[29:01] You can. You can argue. To Samuel. Roles. To Samuel. Plays. Um. And they're not. Mutually exclusive. Um. Firstly. It is history. It records.
[29:12] Historical events. Gives us an insight. Into what happened. And what is. What was the historical unfolding. Of this. Plan of God. For. The salvation.
[29:23] Of. Of his people. And. Uh. The. The. The. Glorification of his son. Um. That plays out in history. And. To Samuel.
[29:34] One and two Samuel. Gives us. Part of that story. Um. We can date some of the events. You know. If David. Started to reign as king. Is about 10. 10 BC. You know.
[29:44] Then. You know. You can work from there. And. You know. David was born. About 1040. Um. You know. Uh. Up to. Abner. Murdered by Joab.
[29:55] And to Samuel 3. And so on. All those kinds of events. The first couple of chapters. That's about. 1003 BC. Um. So quite quickly actually. This in terms of dating it. Chronologically. Um.
[30:06] The bulk of. To Samuel. Lay out. Less than a thousand years. Before. Jesus was born. Um. But yeah. We can do that. Um. Literary art.
[30:17] I'll talk a bit more about. Hebrew narrative. And how we look at that. When we look at. The. The. The text. Um. But. You know. People who study these things. Say it is actually quite a.
[30:29] Quite a. High quality work. Of. Literary art. Um. Uh. You know. And. We. We maybe miss that. Through our kind of.
[30:39] Over familiarity. With the text. But. We'll. We'll look at that a bit more. As we go. Um. On tonight. But. Yeah. Don't. Don't let the. Don't let the.
[30:50] Um. The art. The. The prose. Of the narrative. Of. Pass you by. And what the writers. Are trying to do. Um. An apology.
[31:02] An apology. Not. I'm sorry. Um. Apology. In the kind of. Biblical discipline. Kind of a sense of. Giving a reason for. Um. And.
[31:13] You know. Lots of people have. Uh. Written about this. Kind of arguing that. In that time. When this was written. You know. The time of. Uh. Uh.
[31:24] Solomon. Probably. Um. Written probably by Samuel. Gad. Nathan. The prophets. One of the. You know. Main. Main avenues. Of. Of. Thinking about who wrote this.
[31:36] And we don't know for certain. But. That this is to provide an accounting. For. Some of the controversial actions. And policies. Of. David. And Solomon. And.
[31:47] You know. Then through that. Their descendants. And. And especially. The kind of. Rise of David. And the succession. Narratives. In 1 and 2 Samuel. So. What do we mean by that?
[31:59] Well. I mean. David displaced Saul. Obviously. From the throne. Um. And. His male heirs. You know. There was a. There's a. That. As we'll see. When we look at 2 Samuel.
[32:09] Didn't happen. Very easily. There wasn't a universal. You know. Acclamation of David. Signing as king. Um. So now. You know. If you don't deal with that. You know.
[32:20] And explain. How this happened. And why this happened. And you'll always have this problem. Um. So you know. Some of the. Kind of most damaging accusations. Against David. Could have been the following.
[32:30] You know. He usurped Saul's throne. He coerced the religious establishment. Into. Uh. Conspiring against Saul. You know. He organized and led a. A rebel military force.
[32:41] Um. Uh. You know. After he was banished from Israel. He plundered and raided Israel's territories. Uh. They fought with the Philistines. Uh. In that battle. In which Saul died.
[32:52] Um. And he was. He was responsible for executing Saul's male relatives. And various things like that. That. That's the story that would have been out there. Um. And 2 Samuel in a sense. Tells.
[33:03] Tells the different story. It tells the real story. It puts the facts on the table. Um. So to speak. So you know. People could have. Could have quite understandably. You know.
[33:14] And. Believed some of those stories. If these weren't there. But. The books of Samuel. And 2 Samuel especially. Makes. Quite clear. That. David didn't act improperly.
[33:24] Towards Saul. Um. Or any member of his household. You know. He never tried to kill Saul. Or remove him from the throne. Um. He was willing to wait.
[33:35] Um. Even though Saul made at least 16 efforts. 16 different efforts to murder David. Um. So the narrative portrays Saul.
[33:46] David as loyal to Saul. Um. And his household. Even. Even long after Saul's death. Um. So it really wants to make that clear. Um.
[33:57] Um. And. What it also tells us. Is that key members of Saul's family. Um. And his administration. And his kingdom. Recognized and respected David.
[34:09] As Saul's rightful successor. Um. Saul. Even. Um. Jonathan. His son. Michal. Um.
[34:20] His wife. Abner. The elders of Israel. Saul's military officers. You know. They all are represented. In 1 and 2 Samuel. As responding positively.
[34:31] To some aspect of David. And his career. Um. So the story out there. That. There was universal negative. You know. Feelings from any of those quarters.
[34:42] Towards David. Is dispelled in 2 Samuel. That's. That's what the writer wants to put on the table. Making it even. Saul was positive towards David. Um. You know.
[34:53] Jonathan will look at that a bit. Um. Later on. Is. You know. He was. He was the rightful heir. In some sense. You know. In the people's eyes. And he's the one that's. Right up front there.
[35:03] And the main one who's. Um. Saying. David. You should be king. Um. Not me. Um. And. Also. Not as David.
[35:14] But then Solomon's rise to kingship. After that. Now that kind of. Goes in a bit into 1 Kings. But 2 Samuel. Sets the stage for that. Um. Now if you think about.
[35:26] How Solomon. Becomes king. After David. That's also contested. That's also not quite. You know. Clean. Clean cut. As clean cut as. Maybe. Well. Definitely. As Solomon would have wanted.
[35:38] Um. Now he makes a public claim to the throne. Only after his brother. Adonijah. Has already been anointed as king. Um. Um. And.
[35:48] Not only did Solomon's claim come later than Adonijah's. But. It was weaker. Because. Uh. Adonijah was David's oldest living son. And.
[35:59] Solomon apparently was David's. You know. Only David's. Tenth born son. Um. To Samuel. Three. And five. Talks about that. Um. So not quite.
[36:11] High up. As high up the picking order. As you would need to establish. Your claim to the throne. Uh. Very easily. And very strongly. Um. Yeah. He had David's military commander.
[36:21] Joab. Put to death. Uh. And then he. Continues killing some of Saul's relatives. So. He's got a problem.
[36:32] And 2 Samuel needs to deal with that. Um. But. When we read 2 Samuel. We're prepared to. React positively. To Solomon's. Elevation to the throne.
[36:44] So keep out. Keep a lookout for those things. As we go through the text. Um. There are significant indications. In 2 Samuel. That the Lord had long desired. Solomon to be as well as next king.
[36:55] Um. Of David's fifteen sons. Mentioned by name in 2 Samuel. It's only said of Solomon. That. The Lord loved him. In 2 Samuel 12. Um.
[37:06] And not just that. He's the only child. Who was given the rare privilege. Of being renamed. By the Lord. Through the prophet Nathan. When Samuel's born.
[37:17] The prophet Nathan comes to David. And says. You're going to. You know. Rename him. Jedi Diah. Which means. Beloved of the Lord. For the Lord loved him.
[37:28] Um. You know. Then. Various things. Going out of that. So kind of. From an apology perspective. That's. That's one of the. One of the functions.
[37:39] That 2 Samuel has. Um. So if we don't look at it that way. We're missing part of what the narrative is trying to prepare us for. Um. Theology. Um. There is.
[37:51] Um. Lots of. Deep and rich theological concepts. In 2 Samuel. Again. It's not just the history story. Uh. Covenant. Like we said.
[38:01] This whole explosion. Almost of the covenant now. This is. You know. Or. You know. If it's not quite. Full HD. As in the new covenant. We're definitely.
[38:11] You know. Moving from black and white TV. To color now. Um. So covenant is really important. God's presence. With his people. You know. David prepares for the temple to be built.
[38:23] Uh. The tabernacle is there. The tabernacle plays a big role. Mentioned over and over again. So look out for that. Um. And really. The kind of whole thing about wholehearted obedience. To God.
[38:35] Um. What happens when we don't have wholehearted obedience to God. And. And. What are the consequences. And how does God deal with that. Um. And there's a. You know.
[38:47] God does not. Let those things pass by. As we see in David's own life. But we see the gracious nature of how God deals with his people. Because of his own promises.
[38:59] Um. And it's scripture. Um. In the Old Testament. Um. It's. There's various kind of overlaps with the Torah. The first five books of the Bible.
[39:11] Various concepts. I'm not going to go through all of them now. But. Um. There's a. Legal connections. And in the law itself. And one and two Samuel.
[39:22] Things like burnt offerings. And the Ark of God. And circumcision with the covenant sign. All kinds of stuff like that. And then in two Samuel. There's a whole lot of things that might seem strange to us. If we don't see it in the light of what God had already told Israel.
[39:34] In the Torah. And the law. Um. There are things like carrying the Ark by hand. You know. There's an episode in two Samuel. Isn't there. Where that's not done. And that has serious consequences.
[39:45] Um. It's not arbitrary. It's coming out of the blue. Death penalty for adultery. Um. Cities of refuge. Various things.
[39:55] Census. Right at the end of two Samuel two. When David has his folly of ordering a census of the nation. Um. And, um.
[40:06] The census calling a plague. That comes from Exodus 30. Uh. Verses 11 to 16. So. The. Yeah. It's part of the Old Testament. The scripture. Obviously. Um.
[40:17] It follows on from the Torah. With this motif of the shepherd. As a noble leader. Um. Abel. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob.
[40:28] Judah. Moses. They're all. Spoken of as shepherds. In the Old Testament. So. In 1 Samuel. The opening scenes. If you remember.
[40:38] Where Saul can't find the donkeys. Um. You know. That's not just. The story again. Of what. What happened. You know. He's portrayed as an incompetent shepherd.
[40:49] Who can't even find these large animals. Um. And they go home later on. Without Saul even finding them. Um. And the audience is prepared through that.
[41:01] To evaluate Saul. As an unrighteous and tragic character. In Israel's history. But on the other hand. David is initially. Portrayed as. You know. A faithful shepherd. Who is with the flock.
[41:12] When everybody else is there. Trying to be. You know. Anointed king. Um. And. The others have all abandoned him. But he is still faithfully. Executing his job as shepherd. And we'll see how that plays out.
[41:23] In 2 Samuel as well. Um. In the New Testament. 2 Samuel provides. A background for understanding. Christian doctrine. And teaching. Uh. Jesus.
[41:34] Refers to 1 and 2 Samuel. You know. When he makes the point. When the Pharisees accuse his. You know. His. His disciples of. Uh. Plucking grain. Uh. From the field.
[41:45] Mark 2. He says. Well. In the days of Abiath. The priest. David's men went into the temple. And ate the consecrated bread. So. You know. Jesus himself relies on.
[41:56] On. On 1 and 2 Samuel. To make theological points. So it's a background for understanding. Christian doctrine. And teaching. That we get. sometimes primarily from the New Testament so it's important to remember that David son of Jesse is mentioned 54 times in the Greek New Testament Samuel three times Saul once Uriah once, Abiathah once the phrase son of David is employed 16 times in the New Testament mostly in reference to Jesus but only when we see it in light of to Samuel 7 so it is really important for us to understand a lot of what we get in the New Testament it is not, we can't separate these things out an accurate historical record again that Mark 2 episode that Jesus goes to he is relying on it as an accurate historical description of what happened in David's day so you know if it's if Jesus can rely on it as an accurate historical description there's no reason why we can't either
[43:04] Jesus' genealogical records relies very heavily on to Samuel and it's a source of instruction and encouragement and hope isn't it you know Romans 15 verse 4 talks about Holy Scripture including the books of Samuel has written to teach us so that through endurance and the encouragement of Scriptures we might have hope that is a function that it has as Scripture it's a source of instruction for the writer of Hebrews relying on David and Samuel as he wrote examples of faith James urged his readers to take as an example of patience in the faith of suffering the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord and presumably taking Samuel as an example 1 Samuel 19 specifically and 2 Peter tells us to keep the words of 1 and 2 Samuel along with the rest of Scripture in remembrance and to implement the teaching in James so it has a function in that broader function of Scripture that is useful for us to keep in mind so 2 Samuel it's all about
[44:29] David or is it it's not and that's maybe one of the biggest mistakes that we're going to make when we come to 2 Samuel isn't it this is this is the book of David this is the story of David we know the story of David we learn the story of David from Sunday school we hear the David stories of little stars and dads and tots and all the way through we know David's story and we know that this is about David it's not about David it's about God in the first place David is a way that God teaches us about himself through 2 Samuel and you know I think 1 Samuel when we looked at that previously you know I understand again spoke about
[45:31] David and Goliath and we even had a rap about that and what it's really about you know trying to see ourselves in the position of David and you know how are we like David that's that's the wrong path to go down down into it is primarily teaching us about God even in and especially through David's actions what is God like what is his nature like what is his character like who is this king that we're longing for the real ultimate king who will establish God's kingdom it's not in the first instance about David a couple of tricky issues that might come up polygamy old theme coming through from 1 Samuel David had a number of wives and children with a number of them how do we how do we understand that at some level we don't know it's not it's not held up as a great example it's not as outright condemned as maybe we would want possibly the lesser of evils single women wouldn't have had a way of making a living in those days poverty slavery prostitution starvation that was the alternative so in some ways that might feed into it kings were too many wives what's too many different people have different opinions
[47:13] I guess most people would say two but yeah it usually goes badly is the thing to keep in mind and we see that with David's sons David's children from different wives that's a big source of the conflict between them in the succession battle even it's people from different wives violence there's a lot of violence still if you think you remember David wants to build the temple God says no you've got blood on your hands you can't build the temple your son will we will see some of that violence in two sons will still a lot of it's by the state David's subduing the nations around them establishing peace it's not in the individuals hands and where it is where individuals do take it into their own hands it's punished quite swiftly when people come to David trying to win his favour oh I killed so and so for you that never works out well for them it is war against the seed of the serpent we mustn't forget that what started in Genesis is still going on and these nations around
[48:26] Israel are emblematic of the seed of the serpent and God's kingdom breaking into a world that is opposed to him will elicit violence from those people Satan and E.C.
[48:45] do not want to submit to God's kingdom so we must read it in that sense it is theocracy God ruling over his people it's an intrusion of that this reality reality that God rules over all things and we know there's a day coming when everybody who is opposed to God will be punished and in some ways some people argue Merit Klein there's this intrusion ethic that sometimes in the Old Testament some of these things that we see that puzzle us that seem harsh to us is some of that ultimate final judgment which is more horrible than we can even conceive of breaking into the here and now often as warnings to help people to escape that final judgment that is coming prophetic scenarios to Samuel 10 the nations arraying themselves against David right after the covenant comes into being now that kind of recalls
[49:58] Psalm 2 you know why do the nations rage which come up again in the New Testament there's a prophetic element to some of these things pointing forward to things we see being fulfilled in the New Testament and are waiting to see fulfilled later on so that's part of what is going on there injustice cannot be the source of the kingdom like I said you get quite a few people who come to David saying oh we've killed your rivals now give us a position in your administration we've killed so and so so your path is now clear that never works out well for them not once and there is a sense in which the violence that then happens in terms of them getting killed is a recognition that their violence cannot be the source of the kingdom God will punish that kind of usurping of his authority in establishing his kingdom
[51:03] I said we talk about Hebrew narrative if we look at it 2 Samuel 4 is a good place to look at that if you have a bible and you want to look at that so this is how Ish-busheth Saul's son who's anointed king and is killed in this chapter by these fellows Barna and recap characterisation is very important in Hebrew narrative little details that are given to you about how someone acted how they reacted what they didn't do it's often very subtle but it is very worth paying attention to the little small details of what people do and how they portray
[52:10] Hebrew narrative often won't kind of come out and say something out loud these were two very bad people you've got to deduce it from what's going on sometimes it's easier sometimes it's harder and juxtaposition and foil on a meta level you've got Saul in 1 Samuel David in 2 Samuel and a lot of what we need to know about David isn't said outright into Samuel before that even it is when you place those two together next to each other and say what did Saul do and how did David do it differently that you actually find out what the writer of Samuel wants us see about David it's mere repetition you can sometimes get something stated and it looks like the writer just says it again it's never mere repetition it always is some kind of an emphasis or some kind of an expansion so when you read through it it looks like this guy is just repeating himself there's a purpose to that
[53:18] Rechab and Barna they go in and they go to Ish-busheth if you look at verse 5 they said about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-busheth as he was taking his noonday rest as they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat and they stabbed him in the stomach then Rechab and Barna his brother escaped so fine we got what happened and then it says in verse 7 when they came into the house as he lay on his bed in his bedroom they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him now we got that he was taking his noonday rest in the first part didn't we why is that emphasized well he was asleep sounds obvious but what does it tell us about those two that they go in and sneak in and kill him while he's asleep well they're cowards they're cowardly people who try and you know reasal themselves into
[54:34] David's good graces by going in and killing ish while he's asleep that's the idea that we should be getting about them they're cowards they're not brave people who want to try and help David they're really cowards and that's why he emphasizes it in verse 7 he was laying on his bed in his bedroom they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him they sneak in and they stab him and now interestingly what happens when they go to David verse 11 it says how much more wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth and David commanded these young men and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron in a billboard poster of what happens when you try and take the law into your own hands and when you act against Saul in my name David says he cut off their hands and feet why their hands and feet well there's going to be no more sneaking or stabbing is there so that's things to keep in mind
[55:48] Hebrew narrative what is unsaid who should we place this character against in order to understand him or her fully David and Jonathan we've had a lot of David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel but the beginning of 2 Samuel 1 Samuel 1 verses 25 and 26 this is after Jonathan has died David laments for Saul and Jonathan and he says verse 25 how the mighty have fallen in the midst of battle Jonathan lies slain on your high places I am distressed for you my brother Jonathan very pleasant have you been to me your love to me was extraordinary surpassing the love of women so this is a greater love than love between men and women so therefore how could we possibly say it is not right but the real issue there is fidelity and devotion it's faithfulness not sexuality this might come up in your groups so it's worth touching on it
[57:32] Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary on this he had reason to say that Jonathan's love to him was wonderful surely never was the like for a man to love one who he knew was to take the crown over his head and to be so faithful to his rival this far surpassed the highest degree of conjugal affection and constancy so no it is not legitimizing homosexual relationships it is about the fact that Jonathan would have been the natural heir and he was faithful to David to the end that is what it's about the question why does David X why does David do Y we get that time and time again in 2 Samuel in a lot of David's life David is not always right and the writer of Samuel is honest about that he portrays all of
[58:32] David's warts and the message is there that all human leadership is flawed and 1 and 2 Samuel is honest about that why does David do things?
[58:44] because he's a sinful man like all of us and even though he has this grace of God making his covenant to him that does not make him perfect so we shouldn't try and kind of fall into the trap of having to try and justify what David does sometimes I mean Bathsheba and Uriah prime example and that sets up almost the bulk of 2 Samuel comes from that but the question is is there repentance when he does these things?
[59:17] and that's the big contrast with Saul Saul was not repentant when Samuel confronted him why did you come and bring an offering?
[59:29] then he wasn't repentant at all when David sins when Nathan comes to him he says I have sinned against the Lord immediately and repents and turns back and does what he can to show that 2 Samuel 12 13 that is like I said that is David repenting Nathan coming to him and he says I've sinned against the Lord and that's all he says it's not trying to argue away what he did it's not trying to make excuses so we don't have to do that either ultimately grace is greater than our sin and that comes out through David's story the fact that God still deals graciously with him time after time after time eternal kingdom that might come up 2 Samuel 7 like I said covenant being established and God says verse 13 for example
[60:43] I shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever I will be to my father and he will be to me a son when he commits iniquity I will discipline him with the rod of men and the son of men and that's like I said isn't it the servant under the rod of God is then that middle section but yeah your house and your kingdom will be made for sure will be made sure forever before me forever forever forever so that might come up people say well obviously David died Solomon died the kings after that died eventually the kingdom was lost and they went into exile what about that we know that is because Jesus is at the moment seated at the right hand of God on this throne that God established ruining and reigning for all eternity but it might come up in her grips when someone asks but how does that work but the good thing about that and the good thing for us is there's a song about that and that's the end of what
[61:57] I have to say about Samuel for tonight ending Thank you.